And on a purely primal level it's common to prioritize one's offspring over one's self. I think most cultures recognize this intuitively.
What a grand delusional statement, like the sibling comment here. It’s literally arguing moral superiority while ignoring pragmatic reality.
Maybe you watch a little bit too much television, but there are plenty of spouses out there who would, for example, not want their wife to die in childbirth if they had the option.
Not to go too sideways, but hostage (with humans, not data) situations are typically about other people. When you’re the target, it’s not your life on the line, but your loved/valuable ones. So you’re not defending just yourself, you actually have to care about at least someone else to have it happen to you. And some care about a lot more than just their loved ones, they’ll also think about their friends, family, sometimes the rest of the society.
Everyone is different and there is no absolute best, but let’s at least recognize it’s complex and there’s lots of ways to think about it.